KHARTOUM (AFP) — Two Sudanese rebel groups are suspected of being behind a weekend attack on an African Union base in south Darfur that killed 10 peacekeepers, a source close to the investigation said on Tuesday.
"It could be a combined attack by the Sudan Liberation Movement SLM-Unity of Abdhallah Yahia and another group which recently split from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)," the source said on condition of anonymity.
The source declined to say what the suspicions were based on.
The African Union on Monday began probing the attack by a large group of heavily armed fighters who overran the Haskanita camp in around 30 vehicles in the worst assault on the undermanned force since it deployed in July 2004.
Noureddine Mezni, the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) spokesman in Khartoum, said it was too early to positively identify those responsible for the attack.
"If the goal of the perpetrators is to prove their existence and to secure a place at the negotiating table in Tripoli, they will not be allowed to do so," Mezni told AFP.
A peace conference is scheduled in the Libyan capital on October 27 and aims to broaden the Darfur peace agreement (DPA) signed in May 2006 between Khartoum and the main Darfur rebel movement to include those groups which did not sign.
SLM-Unity split from the main SLM faction headed by Minni Minawi, the only faction which signed the peace treaty with Khartoum, and is headed by Abdallah Yahia.
The group was involved in clashes with government forces near Haskanita on September 10.
The other group which split from JEM, founded by Khalil Ibrahim as one of the first rebel groups, is relatively unknown and is headed by veteran rebel Abu Garda and a military commander called Abdallah Banda.
The Sudan Tribune reported last week that Abu Garda had been sacked by JEM leader Ibrahim on September 26 for having unauthorised meetings with Khartoum officials.
The paper quoted a JEM official as saying that Abu Garda was bitter about the removal of Banda in June.
Sunday's attack left 10 peacekeepers dead, including seven Nigerians, with the others from Botswana, Mali and Senegal. According to AMIS, three peacekeepers are still missing.
Conflict and famine in Darfur have left at least 200,000 people dead and two million displaced since Khartoum enlisted Janjaweed Arab militia allies to put down an ethnic minority revolt in 2003.
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